Buena Vista
Balanced, juicy and sweet with notes of mango, mandarin, blackcurrant and black tea.
Buena Vista is a small farm, located at 1,840m above sea level near the village of La Muralla. Buena Vista’s name translates to “Beautiful View”— and for good reason. This farm has a breathtaking view, and is surrounded by a native oak forest and natural water springs.
It is owned by Damian Bolaños (pictured above) who fell in love with coffee at a young age, working along side his father at Buena Vista, and later inherited the farm after finishing his studies.
For Damian, coffee is his life and his livelihood, but it is so much more to him than this. He also sees it as an important source of employment for the community, and cares greatly about the welfare of the workers that he employs on his farm, working closely alongside them every day.
Damian believes that coffee teaches him a new lesson every day. “I want to produce the best coffee possible, and to not take any compromises” he explains. This motivates him; he seeks to continuously learn and improve the farm infrastructure and agricultural practices, renovate and update his equipment, and take extra steps to ensure that the water, birds and environment is protected.
Damian is committed to producing the best coffee he possibly can, and is constantly working to improve the way he harvests and processes his coffee. He is dedicated, curious and open, and keen to learn about how to improve his practices. He has taken a lot of training courses that are run by the La Muralla Cooperative of which is a member, and he also works closely with InConexus to receive support and training.
ABOUT INCONEXUS AND BUENA VISTA
Damian, along with other farmers in the region, is supported by our export partner, InConexus. They work with small farms in Tolima to achieve the highest standards possible, with sustainability and quality at the forefront. InConexus play an important role in connecting tiny producers like Edier with buyers like MCM encouraging long-term relationships to flourish. Their goal is to improve the economic, environmental and social situation of their producing partners, whilst also increasing their quality, sustainability efforts, and inclusivity initiatives at a farm level.
By developing and nurturing partnerships throughout the supply chain, InConexus believes that entire communities can be empowered. Individual growers can be encouraged to become better business owners, which in turn will result in higher-quality coffees, improved market access, and ultimately increased income and more sustainable and healthy livelihoods. We are proud to partner with InConexus and believe wholeheartedly in their mission. And if the quality of Damian’s coffee is any indication of the potential of the coffees from this region, this partnership is truly making a difference.
AWARDS
Damian’s commitment to quality was recently recognised in a specialty coffee competition called Mejor de Huila that is organised by InConexus to uncover the best coffees in the region. More than 350 coffee growers from south and west of Huila department entered the competition, eager to present their very best micro-lots and learn more about the benefits and the characteristics of their coffee in front of the international juries. Damian’s coffee was awarded among the 30 best quality coffees.
ABOUT HUILA
The department of Huila is located in the southwest of Colombia. It is framed by the Central and Eastern ranges of the Andes, with most of it sitting in the Magdalena Valley. This region is renowned for the quality of its coffee, and in 2013 it received the Denomination of Origin status. Coffee production in Huila belongs to an ecosystem of subtropical, very humid mountain forest. The year-round distribution of rainfall, rich soil and temperature allow exceptional coffee to be cultivated at elevations of up to 1,900 meters above sea level almost throughout the whole year.
Huila is one of the largest coffee-producing regions in the country, however the size of coffee farms is overwhelmingly small-scale, with most farmers owning on average just 1.5 hectares of land. Alongside coffee they also grow rice, raise cattle, and farm fish.
HOW THIS COFFEE WAS PROCESSED
This coffee was processed using the washed method at Buena Vista’s ‘micro-beneficio’. The coffee was pulped using a small manual or electric pulper, and then placed into a fermentation tank, where it was fermented for up to 10–14 hours (depending on the weather). They were then carefully dried (over 8–12 days) in the sun and under parabolic beds, which are constructed a bit like a ‘hoop house’ greenhouse, that act to protect the coffee from the rain and have adjustable walls to help with air flow and temperature control. This ensures the coffee can dry slowly and evenly.
